Spinning a better web

Friday, 29 April 2016, by Luke Randall

Ever heard of the saying don’t judge a book by it's cover? Well that has little play in the digital world, instead a Google study revealed how first impressions of websites are 94% design related.

So looks really do matter, at least when it comes to websites. The visual appeal, attractiveness, beauty and aesthetics of user interfaces is the factor which has the real impact.

For want of a better word, websites need to look sexy, almost supermodelesque, and there are two things to consider to avoid high bounce rates: one, understanding the ways and wants of an online user, and two, knowing how it all works and working it well.

So what needs of online consumers have changed alongside the furious advancements in technology? Here’s a quick look into current user trends:

Google research has discovered that it takes us 0.05 seconds to form our first impression of a newly visited site. To combat this, large HD graphics, or rather hero images are now found above the fold, the portion of a web page that is visible in a browser window when the page first loads. These HD graphics immediately visually stimulate us, as well as hold our attention.

The increased popularity of mobile devices has shaped the way we operate online. Society has become more comfortable scrolling through content instead of landing on a page of block text above the fold. Scrolling lulls us, as the user, into an idea of storytelling which can also be enhanced by rich animation adding interactivity and entertainment to a site’s appearance.

Today, the Internet can be accessed through computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones, games consoles and televisions, just to name a few. With so many doors that open to the online community there is a huge need for responsive website design. Cross platform compatibility and coding standards have become more important than ever in order to deliver websites that can operate across different screen sizes and devices.

Pioneered by Pinterest, there is a demand for card style layouts featuring within website design. This involves bite size chunks of information that act as content containers. After reading these small blocks of text we can quickly decide whether we want to continue with this area of the website and follow a link, or scroll on. Content must be short, sharp and snappy.

At Kenyons we understand the ways and wants of an online user and we know how a good website design works. Our new look website is creative, attractive and interactive which has led to a fall in our own bounce rate.

Just as perms, leg warmers and 80’s make-up fall out of fashion, so do websites. Is your online image outdated?